to four-year transitional housing for women
and children based on financial need.

As president of the organization, Campbell spearheaded a major reorganization. He
created a mission statement and developed
goals for expansion, writing Hearth’s first
long-range plan, rewriting the bylaws, and
hiring the first full-time employee.

Campbell was the first in his family to go
to college. In 1982, he moved to Tucson to
complete his master’s degree in lighting design at the University of Arizona and, after
working in that field briefly, he became a real
estate practitioner in 1984. He has worked as
an associate with Coldwell Banker in Tucson for the past 28 years. In 2003, he joined
the board of the Hearth Foundation, which
was founded in 1987 by the Tucson Association of
R;;;;;;;® and the Arizona Certified Residential
Specialists.

One of the biggest changes Campbell made wasto move the foundation’s o;ce out of the Tucson As-sociation of R;;;;;;;® building to a nearby duplexat its transitional housing site, which puts the boardin closer proximity to the property and its residents.“People began to look at us as an independent entity,”he says. “It helped us establish independence and morerespect in the nonprofit world.”The foundation is not only gaining admirers, it’s alsoresetting people’s lives. Four years ago, Taquiya Free-man became pregnant during her senior year of highschool and was subsequently kicked out of her home inNew York. She moved into a maternity residence andgave birth on her high school graduation day. Althoughshe’d planned to attend the University of Arizona inTucson, she delayed entering and found work but heldon to her college dream. Once she’d saved enough forinitial tuition costs and a one-way ticket for her and heryear-old son, Freeman boarded a plane to Arizona andnever looked back. She now lives in one of the HearthFoundation’s long-term duplexes while she balanceswork, parenting, and college. “It’s put normalcy in mylife,” she says. “This is a stepping stone.”Under Campbell’s leadership, the organization wasawarded a $719,000 grant from the Arizona State De-partment of Housing. The funds are being used to gutthe aging duplexes, which are getting new windows,floors, appliances, furnishings, HVAC units, side walks,and a security gate. “Our feeling is if what we o;er isn’tgood enough for our daughters to live in, then it’s notgood enough for anybody,” Campbell says. Construc-tion should be completed by February.

The Hearth Foundation is seeking grants to buildfour more long-term units and a community centerwhere life-skills classes would be o;ered in everythingfrom cooking to job-hunting. There are also plans tobuild another 14 transitional homes on another prop-erty the group owns. Campbell estimates that there arenearly 400 women with children in need of housing inTucson. “These aren’t the people we see on the streetwith a tin can out. These are people from all socioeco-nomic backgrounds,” he says. “People have lost theirhomes and their jobs at every level of the economy inthis country. You never know if it’s going to be you orme or someone close to you who needs help.”Campbell’s mother died of lung cancer in 1984 at theage of 56. But her fortitude during her di;cult yearscontinues to inspire him. “She was my best friend. Shewas also the strongest person I ever met in my life. Mymother refused to give up on anything,” he recalls.

The foundation helpsmore than 500 womenand children in crisiseach year. The shelterapartments can houseup to 13 families ata time who stayfor up to 90 days.